Various types of patient supports are used for lifting a patient from a sitting or reclining position or for moving a patient. Examples include harnesses, sit-to-stand supports, and the like. Typically, such supports are made of hard and/or inelastic materials, for instance metal and/or canvas, designed for load bearing support that are uncomfortable and/or may be abrasive, tearing into a patient's skin.
In cases where a patient is to be raised from a sitting position, it is sometimes advantageous or necessary to hold the patient's knees and/or ankles to prevent the patient from slipping. For this purpose, it is known to provide knee or ankle supports that support and/or facilitate the appropriate positioning of a patient's knees, shins or ankles. As the patient rises to a standing position, the knees, shins or ankles press against the supports to assist the patient in rising. Often significant pressure is applied by the patient's knees, shins or ankles on the supports. Such supports are typically constructed from metal plates covered in foam or soft plastic. The hard support material of these leg or knee supports, however, focuses stress on the knees and knee caps and can be uncomfortable despite the foam/plastic covering.
Similarly, conventional slings and harnesses as used in patient lifts are generally constructed from inelastic material, such as canvas or a stiff fabric, and need to be manually adjusted to conform to and secure a patient. They also have seams and stitch lines at its edges and along contoured regions of such supports which can be relatively hard, causing discomfort, chaffing and grazing the patient.